Liana Burgess (born Liliana Macellari, September 25, 1929 – December 3, 2007) was an Italian translator and literary agent who was the second wife of English writer
Anthony Burgess
John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer.
Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...
. Burgess and Macellari had embarked on an affair while Burgess was married to his first wife, and Macellari gave birth to a son nine months after their meeting. The couple became
tax exile
A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...
s in the late 1960s, living in
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, and spent several years in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. They finally settled in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
. Macellari played an important role in Burgess's later literary career, negotiating film rights and acting as his European literary agent, and translating his novels.
Academic life
Macellari was born in Porto Civitanova, Italy, in 1929. Her mother was an amateur poet and artist, Contessa Maria Lucrezia Pasi della Pergola, and her father was Gilberto Macellari, a photographer and actor. Her father died in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. Macellari had a sister who was later killed in a mountaineering accident.
Macellari learnt the English language by reading the novelist
Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
.
[
Macellari studied at the ]University of Bologna
The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...
and the University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
and was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
which enabled her to study literature in the United States, at Mount Holyoke College. Shortly after her move to America, Macellari met and married Benjamin Johnson, an African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
translator of Italo Svevo
Aron Hector Schmitz (19 December 186113 September 1928), better known by the pseudonym Italo Svevo (), was an Italian writer, businessman, novelist, playwright, and short story writer.
A close friend of Irish novelist and poet James Joyce, Svevo ...
. Shortly after their marriage the couple separated and were finally divorced in 1967.[
After moving to Rome in the late 1950s Macellari founded a theatre company and after having an affair with Englishman Roy Halliday, moved to ]London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
with him. Halliday later drowned when sailing in the Atlantic Ocean.[
It was while in Rome that Macellari started her Italian-language translation of ]Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell.
Born in India to British colonial p ...
's fiction tetralogy ''The Alexandria Quartet
''The Alexandria Quartet'' is a tetralogy of novels by British writer Lawrence Durrell, published between 1957 and 1960. A critical and commercial success, the first three books present three perspectives on a single set of events and characters ...
''.[ Macellari also translated ]James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
's ''Finnegans Wake
''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction which combines a bod ...
''.[
]
Life with Burgess
In 1963 Macellari was tasked with creating a report on new English fiction for the Bompiani Literary Almanac, and in the course of her research, enthusiastically wrote to the authors of the novels '' A Clockwork Orange'' and ''Inside Mr. Enderby
''Inside Mr Enderby'' is the first volume of the Enderby series, a quartet of comic novels by the British author Anthony Burgess.
The book was first published in 1963 in London by William Heinemann under the pseudonym Joseph Kell. The series beg ...
''. Burgess was the author of both novels, having published ''Inside Mr. Enderby'' with the pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
of Joseph Kell. Macellari and Burgess met for lunch and began an affair, although Burgess was already married. Burgess was unhappily married to Llewela (Lynne) Isherwood Jones, who suffered from alcoholism, and Burgess apparently refused to leave her due to the offence he felt would be caused to George Dwyer
George Patrick Dwyer (25 September 1908 – 17 September 1987) was an English prelate and the Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, England. Dwyer served as the sixth Archbishop of Birmingham from 1965 to 1981, su ...
, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds
The Bishop of Leeds is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds in the Province of Liverpool, England.
The Vicariate Apostolic of the Yorkshire District was elevated to diocese status as the Diocese of Beverley on 29 September ...
, who was his cousin.[
In 1964 Macellari's son, Paolo Andrea, was born. Her former partner, Roy Halliday, was named on the birth certificate as Paolo Andrea's father, and Burgess would later describe him shortly before his 1968 marriage to Macellari as his step-son.] Burgess would also later be described as Paolo Andrea's father. Paolo Andrea died in 2002.[ Burgess's wife died in March 1968, and the couple married not long after. Macellari then ended her academic career at the University of Cambridge. Macellari had joined ]King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
to teach applied linguistics in 1967, and had made Italian-language
Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...
translations of Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...
's novels '' V.'' and ''The Crying of Lot 49
''The Crying of Lot 49'' is a 1966 novel by American author Thomas Pynchon. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, the plot follows Oedipa Maas, a young Californian woman who begins to embrace a conspiracy theory as she possibly unearths a centuries-ol ...
''.[
Macellari played an important role in the development of Burgess's literary career, being depicted as a fictional Italian photographer, Paola Lucrezia Belli, in his 1976 autobiographical novel '']Beard's Roman Women
''Beard's Roman Women'' is a 1976 novel by British novelist Anthony Burgess.
Dated "Montalbuccio-Monte Carlo-Eze-Callian, Summer 1975", according to Burgess it was written in the back of his Bedford Dormobile as he and his wife, Liana Burgess t ...
'', and worked as his European literary agent from 1975. Her translation of his '' Malayan Trilogy'' received the Premio Scanno prize, and she also translated the sonnets of Giuseppe Gioachino Belli
Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondo Belli (7 September 1791 – 21 December 1863) was an Italian poet, famous for his sonnets in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome.
Biography
Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondo Bell ...
that were featured in his 1977 novel '' Abba Abba''.[ She also sued the producers of the film adaptation of ''A Clockwork Orange'', winning a 10% share of the film's profits which were worth more than $1 million.][
The couple left the ]United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in 1968 as a result of the income tax demands that Burgess now faced as a high earning writer, and travelled Europe in a Bedford Dormobile
Dormobile is a 1950s-era onwards campervan (motorcaravan, motorhome) conversion manufactured by the coachbuilder Martin Walter of Folkestone in Kent.
Initially based on the Bedford CA van, the name is associated more with those and subsequent ...
, with Burgess writing in the back of the vehicle while Liana drove. The couple next settled on the island of Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, which they then left for a four-year tour of universities in the United States. While touring America she worked on her translation of Joyce's ''Finnegans Wake
''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction which combines a bod ...
'', retitled ''pHorbiCEtta'' by her.[
The Burgesses ultimately departed Malta in the aftermath of a lecture he had delivered that was poorly received by an audience of Catholic priests, and settled in Italy on the shore of ]Lake Bracciano
Lake Bracciano ( it, Lago di Bracciano) is a lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. It is the second largest lake in the region (second only to Lake Bolsena) and one of the major lakes of Italy. It has a circu ...
, near Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. The couple had experienced further problems with income tax following their move to Italy, having found difficulties in transferring money to Italy from the United Kingdom without incurring taxation in both countries.
The couple settled in Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
in 1974, moving to a large apartment at 44 Rue Grimaldi. The couple had decided to settle in the tax haven
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
of Monaco as the country did not levy income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
and additionally, widows were exempt from death duties
An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died.
International tax law distinguishes between an es ...
, a form of taxation on their husband's estates. The couple's move to Monaco accorded with her conviction that an author's earnings should be exempt from taxation.[
At the time of his death from lung cancer in 1993, Burgess was worth $3 million and owned 11 properties across Europe. The proceeds of these assets enabled Macellari to further the study and promotion of Burgess's work, and to fund the creation of the ]University of Angers
The University of Angers (french: Université d'Angers; UA) is a public university in western France, with campuses in Angers, Cholet, and Saumur.
It forms part of thAngers-Le Mans University Community
History
The University of Angers was init ...
's Anthony Burgess Centre and Manchester's International Anthony Burgess Foundation.[ She also donated £200,000 to ]Liverpool Hope University
, mottoeng=Hope to all who need it
, established=1844 – Saint Katharine's College (as Warrington Training College)1856 – Notre Dame College (as Our Lady's Training College)1964 – Christ's College1979 – Liverpool Institute of Higher Edu ...
to promote the study of her husband's work.[ In his obituary of Liana Macellari for '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Christopher Hawtree wrote that "Perhaps she fretted unduly about his posthumous reputation, but certainly without her, his best work might not have found its lucrative place among the most exhilarating postwar writing."[
]
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Liana
1929 births
2007 deaths
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Italian emigrants to Monaco
Italian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Italian expatriates in Malta
Italian expatriates in the United States
Literary agents
Mount Holyoke College alumni
University of Bologna alumni
University of Paris alumni
20th-century Italian translators
Italian expatriates in France